The 2025 class is the largest in the scholarship program’s history
Whether at its Minneapolis location or manufacturing facilities in Grand Rapids, Hibbing and Cohasset, empowering people and communities fuels MDI’s mission to provide meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Through its Success at Work scholarship program, the social enterprise manufacturer recently honored 40 Minnesota students who share its commitment to uplift others and build more inclusive communities.
Strong local workforces are critical to building healthy and vibrant local economies. There is a significant and growing need to retain homegrown talent in communities across Minnesota, but pathways to training, education and employment often include barriers. MDI’s Success at Work scholarship program helps reduce these barriers by providing each honoree with a $2,000 scholarship to support their educational endeavors – a boost for each student as they build their careers, and an investment in the future of the towns where they will live and work.
“MDI’s commitment to education and employment success runs deep,” said Diane Meyer, MDI’s associate director of employment services. “Through the Success at Work scholarship program, we’re not only investing in students’ futures, but also supporting the next generation of professionals dedicated to strengthening their communities.”
The program is specifically designed to identify and support students in the northern Minnesota communities MDI calls home, better equipping them to pursue their education, increase their career options and maximize their earning potential. These aspiring young professionals must either identify as a person with a disability or intend to work in fields like social services, mental health, special education, and physical or speech therapy.
MDI Success at Work 2025 Recipients standing in a row at school
This year was the biggest year yet for Success at Work – the 2025 class represents more scholarship recipients (40) and more aid distributed ($80,000 total) than any other previous year in the program’s history. Since its inception in 2013, the MDI Success at Work scholarship program has recognized more than 135 outstanding young Minnesotans and provided more than $240,000 in scholarships.
Chosen from a cast of exceedingly strong applicants, this year’s honorees represent eight different Minnesota schools: Bigfork, Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig, Deer River, Grand Rapids, Greenway, Nashwauk-Keewatin, NorthLAND and Northern Lights.
The Success at Work scholarship program is just one of a collection of MDI initiatives focused on growing talent in the communities it serves. The program works together with the Grand Rapids Areas Community Foundation’s Workforce Ready Scholarship program, designed for students who want to live and work in the Greater Itasca Area. MDI also contributes funding and volunteer hours to local organizations through its MDI Cares Council—a dedicated team of employees across all levels of the organization who consider opportunities to build and strengthen local partnerships in the communities MDI proudly serves.
MDI’s philanthropy programming is a natural extension of its everyday mission as a nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to providing meaningful employment opportunities and services for people with disabilities. Through its impactful Success at Work scholarship program, MDI invests in future generations of Minnesotans who aspire to continue this critical, mission-centered work.
